Educators throng Florida Capitol to fight for more money

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, backed by others involved in the Florida state college system, announces that there would be refunds coming to families that have been paying into the Florida Prepaid tuition plan since 2008 and a reduction in the costs for new enrollments during a press conference in Jacksonville, Fla., Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. (Bob Self/The Florida Times-Union via AP)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Thousands of school workers from around the state thronged Florida’s Capitol on Monday to press Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature to more than double the nearly $1 billion the governor is proposing for teacher raises and bonuses.

Large crowds of demonstrators streamed into the Capitol’s main thoroughfare, some hoisting signs beseeching Florida lawmakers to “Fund our Future.” Rally organizers said as many as 10,000 demonstrators would descend on the Capitol on the eve of the official start of the 2020 legislative session.

Florida’s protest erupted amid a wave of education activism across the country over the past two years in states such as Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

The popular Republican governor has made the raises a centerpiece of his $91.4 billion budget plan, which also includes significant spending on environmental programs. His agenda may wrest control of key political issues — education and climate change — long championed by Democrats.

On education, DeSantis is asking lawmakers to approve $600 million to boost the minimum salary of public school teachers to $47,500, which would catapult starting salaries to among the highest in the country. Another $300 million would be distributed based on merit.

But the state’s largest school union said the governor’s proposal merely gives the illusion that he is addressing problems that have long plagued public schools, such as understaffing, crumbling facilities and low morale. The union said as many as 2,400 teaching jobs remain unfilled.

“The governor says he wants to raise entry-level pay. We have any veteran teachers out there?” said Fedrick Ingram, the president of the 145,000-member Florida Education Association, to raucous cheers. “We have any custodians and bus drivers, mental health service workers, counselors? The governor’s plan does not include you.”

He was talking to educators like Bill Hudson, an engineering and design teacher at a Jacksonville-area middle school who arrived at the rally with his wife, Theresa. As a veteran teacher, he already makes less than the minimum pay the governor has promised.

“I think it’s great that the governor is trying to move the ball. I’m kind of shocked the plan wasn’t better thought out,” he said. “It seems there’s still no plan to address veteran teachers and support staff. We have teachers that have been teaching 15 years that still don’t make $47,000 a year. That’s absurd.”

Union officials said the governor’s $1 billion proposal is far short of what is needed to restore funding for traditional public schools that was lost in recent decades through budget cuts and diversion to voucher programs and charter schools.

The union is calling on the governor to increase his legislative request to $2.4 billion for the current legislative session and similar amounts annually for the rest of the decade.

The money would be used to fund 10% raises across the board — not only for teachers but also for other school employees.

Senate Democrats unveiled their own funding proposal Monday along those lines, arguing that the governor’s plan ignores veteran educators as well as non-teaching staff. Their plan would allocate the same amount of money proposed by the governor, but would spread the money across all job classifications.

“No successful business would ignore rewarding loyal, veteran employees while almost exclusively raising the salaries of new ones. It’s demoralizing and counterproductive,” said Senate Democratic Leader Audrey Gibson.

Union officials said 17 busloads of school employees were en route to Tallahassee for Miami. In Polk County, about 1,600 teachers requested time off to the attend the rally, prompting state school officials to send out an email reminding educators that a concerted walkout could constitute an illegal strike.

The rally has drawn national attention, including from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is vying for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“Florida teachers are rallying for fair pay and better funding for schools, and they won’t be intimidated or undermined,” Warren said in a tweet. “I stand with the teachers — and I’ll fight so that teachers get the fair pay and well-funded schools they need and deserve.”

DeSantis was in Jacksonville on Monday morning to announce a college funding program, returning to the capital in the afternoon.

A legislative committee was expected to begin taking up the governor’s school funding proposal Monday afternoon. The $1 billion funding request already has drawn scrutiny from fiscally conservative members within DeSantis’ own party.

When the governor unveiled his proposed budget last fall, he declared it the “year of the teacher.”